Outlaw Lawman (13 page)

“Did this note writer ever contact you personally?” Harlan asked.

“No. Just through the notes.” Farris hesitated. “But I figured it was one of you. Or maybe Devin or Curtis. I don’t have a motive to kill Tiffany in a fake car accident.”

“You didn’t have a motive to set me up,” Harlan reminded him. “Other than the so-called threats you received. But you did it anyway.”

“Wait a minute.” Farris jumped to his feet. “You think I killed Tiffany? I didn’t,” he insisted before Harlan could answer. “I figure she was a pawn, just like I was.”

Harlan gave that pawn theory some thought. Not Farris as a pawn but Tiffany as one. Maybe she had been if her fiancé, Devin, had murdered her and then tried to fix it so that it appeared connected to Rocky Creek.

“What about Sherry?” Caitlyn pressed. “Is she a pawn, too?”

“I don’t know.” With his mini fit of temper apparently exhausted, Farris sank back onto the chair. “But I found some strange things when I hacked into her computer.”

“Like what?” And Harlan hoped whatever it was, Farris had kept copies, because Curtis had already told them that Sherry’s hard drive had been wiped clean.

“She had notes, like a computer diary or something.” Eyes still narrowed, he looked at Caitlyn. “Sherry wrote that she’d overheard you and Harlan that night in the basement.”

Harlan felt the muscles in her body jerk. His probably did, too.
“That night?”
But he already knew what Farris meant.

“She said she was looking for a place to have a smoke, and she heard what you said to Caitlyn. Afterward. The line you said about her being your first.”

Not a line, but Harlan had no intention of correcting him. At least now they knew who at Rocky Creek had overheard them. So did that mean Sherry had written those threatening notes? Harlan glanced at Caitlyn and saw the same question in her eyes.

“What else was in Sherry’s files?” Caitlyn asked.

“That’s just it—nothing that I would expect to find there. No files about her business or anyone else personal in her life. It was all about Tiffany’s car accident and how she wondered if it was connected to Webb’s murder.”

Yeah, that was suspicious. Unless Sherry really was guilty and had done that to cover her tracks.

Harlan heard the rapidly approaching footsteps and automatically stepped in front of Caitlyn. He also put his hand over his weapon. But it was a false alarm of sorts.

“We’re Jay Farris’s attorneys,” the man in the lead said. “And this interview ends now.”

Farris only shrugged and tipped his head to the camera mounted in the corner. “That’ll need to be turned off, too.” His eyes were certainly no longer narrowed, and he seemed in complete control. In fact, he had the smug look of a man who’d accomplished his mission.

Whatever the hell that was.

Had all of this been some kind of act?

“Harlan can’t protect you, you know.” Farris had his attention pinned to Caitlyn now. “That’s why I told you all about the notes and everything this person has made me do. I believe him when he says he’ll kill you. And if you stay with Harlan, you’ll both end up dead.”

Harlan walked closer, stared down at Farris. “Is that a threat?”

“A warning.” Farris lowered his voice to a whisper. “Whoever’s behind this is smart, and if he or she can’t use me to deliver threats and hack into computers, then they’ll find someone else. Probably already has.”

Harlan would have liked to dispute that, but he was afraid it was the truth. And that meant he had to get to the bottom of this fast—especially if Farris couldn’t be connected to any of the violent things that had happened. If the Rangers could tie him only to the notes and the computer hacking, then he’d be released on bond.
Soon.

One of the lawyers made an impatient sound and motioned for Caitlyn and him to leave. Harlan obliged. Caitlyn was trembling, and the sooner he got her away from Farris, the better. He didn’t want her to have to face the sheriff and the others while she was still composing herself, so Harlan led her into the now empty interview room where they’d talked with Billy.

“I’m a mess.” Caitlyn swiped away a tear that slid down her cheek. “I’m scared. I can’t think straight.” Her gaze whipped to his. “And I really wanted an excuse for you to beat Farris to a pulp.”

“The day’s not over.” He meant that to try to move things in a lighter direction, but it didn’t work.

Harlan made a mental note to pick a fight with Farris first chance he got. No, it wasn’t very lawman-like, but he hated seeing Caitlyn like this and wanted to do whatever it took to ease that tension from her body and face.

That caused him to freeze.

Oh, hell. He wasn’t thinking straight either, and he knew exactly what was to blame. “Maybe we should just have sex and get it over with.”

Okay. He clearly hadn’t thought that through and should have kept that little suggestion to himself. Caitlyn stared at him. Blinked.

Then she smiled.

So maybe it had been worth sticking his foot in his mouth after all.

“We should have sex here?” Her mouth quivered again, and she slipped into his arms.

He made a show of looking at the hard tiled floor and table. It was to be part of the joke, but Harlan felt his body tense. Oh, man. Sexual jokes were never a good idea when it came to Caitlyn.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt...anything,” Declan said.

Harlan and she practically flew apart, and both cursed. No doubt because neither of them had heard anyone step into the doorway of the room. A big reminder that he should be thinking with his head.

“What do you want?” Harlan snapped.

“Probably not the same thing you do.” Declan winked at Caitlyn. “Just have to tell you that I’m heading back to Maverick Springs.” He tipped his fingers to the brim of his Stetson in a mock salute and strolled away.

That dangerous energy inside him hadn’t lessened much, and for reasons he didn’t want to explore, this whole winking and whispering with Declan was getting to him.

Okay, he did want to explore it.

“What’s going on between Declan and you?” Yet another thing he should have thought through before opening his mouth.

“What do you mean?” And it sounded like a genuine question.

Too bad, because Harlan figured it’d make him sound like a jealous fool when he clarified it. “The whispering in the hospital parking lot.”

“Oh, that.” She shrugged but generally looked uncomfortable. “It’s just an old bad joke.”

And again she didn’t offer to share it.

Probably for the best, especially since his phone buzzed. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. Not until he saw the name on the screen.

Billy.

Harlan immediately got a bad feeling about this. “Anything wrong?” he greeted Billy. He didn’t put the call on speaker, but Caitlyn moved her ear close enough to hear.

“Plenty. You need to get out to the Rocky Creek facility now.” Billy’s words raced together. “There’s been another murder.”

Chapter Thirteen

Caitlyn hadn’t thought this day could possibly get any worse, but she’d obviously been wrong.

“Who’s been murdered?” Harlan asked Billy.

No answer.

Harlan got the same result when he tried again. Either Billy had hung up or the call had dropped. Of course, there was a third possibility. The worst of the scenarios.

Maybe Billy wasn’t in any shape to answer.

Harlan hung up and jabbed the redial button. Caitlyn moved even closer to him, until they were breath to breath, but there was nothing to hear except for the call going to voice mail.

Mercy. She hoped Billy was okay, and while she was hoping, she added the hope that the man wasn’t lying. She didn’t know why he would, but with all the other crazy things happening, anything was possible.

Harlan hurried back into the main area of the sheriff’s office. “Billy Webb just called and said someone was murdered out at Rocky Creek.”

“You can ride out with me,” Slade offered, and then headed outside, toward his truck that was parked just ahead of Harlan’s. This one didn’t have any bullet damage, so Slade must have traded out vehicles after the attack.

Declan had already left, but the sheriff and one of the deputies grabbed their hats and hurried to a cruiser in the side parking lot.

Harlan opened the passenger door of Slade’s truck, but then stopped and looked at her. “This could be dangerous.”

“I know.” She climbed onto the seat anyway. “But I’d rather risk going to Rocky Creek with you than stay here at the sheriff’s office with Farris.”

No way could he argue with that. Besides, from what she could tell, there was only one deputy left to keep watch over Farris.

Yeah, the odds were much better with Harlan.

She slid over, and Harlan got in so that Slade could start the engine and speed away. Harlan tried Billy’s number again but still no answer.

The sun had already started to dip low in the sky, and the twilight and darkness wouldn’t make this trip easier—especially if the lawmen had to chase down a killer.

Slade sped over the country road, the sheriff’s cruiser with the lights and siren going right behind them. Caitlyn was so caught up in the tenseness of the moment that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone touch her.

But it was Harlan.

A reassuring touch, too. He slid his hand over hers. It instantly made things better. And worse. Because this attraction going on between them was getting just as complicated as the investigation.

Caitlyn groaned. “You asked what the whispering between Declan and me was about. Well, I told you it was nothing, and it was. But I don’t think you believed me.”

Harlan looked at her if she’d lost it. Heck, maybe she had, but telling him that embarrassing inside joke was better than thinking about all the other things that were making her crazy. Like wondering who’d been murdered and why Billy wasn’t answering his phone.

“Declan knew how I felt about you and used to tease me,” she continued before Harlan said anything. “He’d come up to me at random places and times and whisper in my ear, ‘Are you still crushing on Harlan?’ My answer was always the same—‘Am I still breathing?’”

Harlan’s wide eyes took on a poleaxed expression that even the meager light couldn’t cover.

Slade cleared his throat. “I can’t exactly step out while you two talk,” he complained. “And I really don’t want to hear this.”

Fair enough. It was on the personal side, even if it happened to be the silly musings of a teenage girl. It was right up there with the boy-band magazines she’d read so many times she’d memorized them.

“Why are you telling me this now?” Harlan demanded. “Do you think we’re about to die or something?”

“Maybe,” she admitted. That wasn’t something they could totally dismiss. After all, someone had already tried to kill them twice, and as Harlan had pointed out, the day wasn’t quite over yet. “But I also didn’t want you to think I was keeping secrets.”

“Like the article you were writing on Kirby,” Slade challenged.

“Caitlyn axed that article,” Harlan tossed out just as fast.

It had cost him to defend her and Caitlyn appreciated it. However, she knew it was motivated by the attraction. But even a strong attraction wasn’t going to smooth over the differences between Harlan and her.

Would that stop them from landing in bed?

No.

But it would basically ensure that she’d get a broken heart out of this. In the grand scheme of things that was better than dying, but it was a sad day in a woman’s life when it came down to those two options.

Slade turned onto the road toward Rocky Creek. Not cloaked in darkness, thank goodness. There were plenty of security lights blazing, and when the building came into view, Caitlyn immediately spotted not one car but two. One of them belonged to Billy, and she recognized another as Curtis’s.

“What the hell is going on?” Harlan mumbled, and he tried Billy’s phone again. Still no answer.

Before Slade and the cruiser even pulled to a stop, Curtis got out. Not alone either. He had his bodyguard with him—the same man who’d been with him when he’d visited Harlan and her.

But Billy wasn’t in his vehicle.

It was empty, and the driver’s door was wide-open. Worse, the repeated beeping sound let her know that the key was still in the ignition. Headlights on, too. Whatever had gone on here, it appeared that Billy had made a hasty exit.

And not a voluntary one.

“What happened?” Harlan asked Curtis the moment he got out. He drew his gun just as the sheriff and deputy did when they hurried from the cruiser. “Where’s Billy Webb? And who was murdered?”

“Murdered?” Curtis repeated. The shock in his voice made it seem as if he was hearing this for the first time. And maybe he was.

“Billy didn’t say anything about anyone being murdered.” Curtis was trying to catch his breath, and he motioned for his bodyguard to move closer to him. “Billy called me about a half hour ago and asked me to meet him here.”

Caitlyn got out of the truck as well, but when she tried to go closer to the men, Harlan blocked her path. He scanned the area and positioned himself in front of her like a sentry.

“And you came because Billy asked?” Caitlyn didn’t know if he was lying or just plain stupid. “There’s a killer on the loose.” Heck, maybe Curtis himself, and if so that would explain why he hadn’t been afraid that he might die out here.

Of course, the same could be said for Billy.

“Where’s Billy?” Harlan demanded.

“Don’t know. We just got here a few minutes ago, and we found his car like this. He’s not answering his phone either.”

“How in the name of heaven did Billy convince you to come out here?” she asked.

Curtis cursed, but not at them. He cursed himself. “Billy said he was meeting someone who had answers about Sherry’s disappearance. I need answers, and he sounded as if he had them. Besides, Sherry always said she liked Billy, that he was a good kid. I thought I could trust him.”

“My advice? Don’t trust anyone,” Harlan warned. He looked back at her. “Stay put, and if anything goes wrong, get inside the truck.”

She nodded, only because she didn’t want an argument to distract him from finding the person Billy claimed had been murdered. Still, she didn’t want Harlan headed into those woods.

But that was exactly the direction he went.

Slade stayed with her, taking over protection detail, but Harlan looked at the ground around Billy’s car and started walking toward a thick cluster of trees on the east side of the property. Thankfully, he didn’t go alone. Both Sheriff Sheldon and the deputy followed.

“I want a gun,” she whispered to Slade. She figured he had some kind of backup on him. He stared at her, debating what to do, and finally reached into the back waist of his jeans and pulled out a small pistol.

“I was wrong to trust Billy, wasn’t I?” But Curtis didn’t wait for an answer. “Is he a killer? Is he the one behind all these bad things that have been happening?”

“I don’t know.” But considering that Billy wasn’t answering his phone and was nowhere in sight, it was just as likely that Billy had been the victim of foul play.

Curtis hitched his thumb to the building. “Can we at least go inside and wait? I feel like a sitting duck out here.”

“The door’s got a lock on it,” his bodyguard observed.

Harlan had a key, or at least he’d had one for their earlier visit. But then Caitlyn remembered that he hadn’t locked it when they’d run out of there after someone—maybe Curtis—had called the Rangers on them.

“So who locked it?” She glanced back at Slade.

But Slade just lifted his shoulder. “Not me. Maybe the groundskeeper, Rudy Simmons, is back from his trip.”

Caitlyn remembered the man, but he hadn’t been there during their earlier visit. However, he could be the one Billy had called about. Maybe Billy had found the man’s body, but that didn’t answer the question of where Billy had gone.

And had he been forced to make a hasty exit from his vehicle?

Her heart began to bang against her chest when Harlan and the other lawmen disappeared into the woods. After the past two days of nothing but danger and chaos, she should have been numb to it by now, but Harlan and numb didn’t go together.

There was no sound, no warning, but the security lights suddenly went out. Before Caitlyn could even react, Slade latched on to her, swinging her between him and the truck seat, and raised his gun.

“Harlan?” she shouted.

No answer. She braced herself for the sound of shots. For anything. But nothing happened.

Her heart was past the pounding stage now, and everything inside her screamed for her to run and help Harlan, but Slade kept her pinned in place.

Her eyes adjusted to the pitchy darkness, and thanks to the lights from Billy’s car, she had no trouble seeing Curtis and his bodyguard. Both had weapons drawn, too. But the one person she couldn’t see was Harlan.

“He could be ambushed.” Her voice didn’t have much sound, but Slade must have heard it.

“Harlan?” Slade called.

The moments crawled by, and Caitlyn hadn’t thought that silence could terrify her any more than she already was, but it did. She couldn’t just stand there if Harlan was in some kind of danger.

“I have to go,” she told Slade, and she made sure it didn’t sound like a suggestion.

That earned her another glare from him. Some profanity, too. But he started moving along with her. “Stay behind me and try not to get killed.”

Not exactly a friendly invitation, but she’d take what she could get. Caitlyn stayed right with Slade as he made his way to the woods. Not a speedy trip, though, because he kept looking back at Curtis and his bodyguard. Caitlyn did, too, but neither man made an attempt to follow them. In fact, they got back inside their car.

Each step seemed to take a lifetime, but Slade didn’t run. He inched along, his gaze snapping all around them. Caitlyn kept watch, too, but by the time she made it to the trees, the worst-case scenarios were starting to smother her.

Until she heard Harlan.

He whispered something she didn’t understand, and before she actually saw him, his hand snaked out from the tree and he jerked her toward him. It was too dark for her to see his expression, but he put his mouth to her ear.

“Shhh.” And Harlan tipped his head toward their right.

Caitlyn followed his gaze and saw a faint light in the distance. Maybe a flashlight, but if so, it was on the ground, and if someone was holding it, the person didn’t seem to be moving.

Was it Billy?

And if he wasn’t moving, did that mean he’d been hurt or even killed?

Harlan motioned for Slade to move behind her. He did, and along with the sheriff and deputy, they began to make their way toward the light. Above them a breeze was rattling the leaves just enough that it made it harder for Caitlyn to hear. Maybe those leaves and the breeze wouldn’t mask the footsteps of anyone trying to sneak up on them.

They were still a good ten yards away from the light when Harlan’s phone buzzed. Mumbling some profanity about the bad timing, he took out his cell, the screen like a beacon in the darkness.

“It’s Billy,” Harlan relayed to them in a whisper. He didn’t put the call on speaker but Caitlyn stayed close enough to hear.

“Someone tried to kill me,” Billy blurted out.

Mercy. That was not what she wanted to hear. It meant the killer was still out here in these woods.

“Where are you?” Harlan asked. He got them moving again.

“By the creek. Right after I talked to you, someone fired a shot at me. That’s when I ran.”

Caitlyn couldn’t be sure, but she thought she actually heard the rushing creek water in the background. She certainly heard the fear in Billy’s voice.

“I dropped my flashlight in the woods.” Billy moaned. “By the body.”

“Whose body?” Harlan demanded.

Billy made another sound as if he’d sucked in his breath. “I hear footsteps.”

And with that, the call ended.

“Head to the creek,” Harlan told Slade. “Take the deputy with you.”

Slade didn’t question his brother’s order and neither did the deputy. As she watched them hurry away, however, Caitlyn had a sickening thought.

What if Billy had set all of this up?

What if he’d done this to separate them so he could pick them off one by one?

Maybe there’d been no murder—only the ones that Billy was planning now. Their murders. But Caitlyn wouldn’t just let Billy or anyone else kill them without a fight. Thank God she’d gotten the gun from Slade.

Harlan pushed aside a low-hanging tree branch, and from over his shoulder Caitlyn spotted the flashlight on the ground amid some weeds. The lines of light sprayed out like fingers and moved with each new brush from the breeze.

Then Caitlyn saw the body.

There went her theory about no murder. The person was in a heap facedown.

The three of them moved forward in unison. Not much they could tell, though, because the person was wearing a raincoat and slicker-style hat.

“Keep watch,” Harlan reminded them, and he stooped to touch his fingers to the person’s neck.